Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C.

Archbishop Charles J. Brown to deliver 2015 Keeley Vatican Lecture

Published: January 14, 2015

Author: Monica Caro

Archbishop Charles J. Brown

Archbishop Charles J. Brown, Apostolic nuncio to Ireland, will deliver the 2015 Terrence R. Keeley Vatican Lecture at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 15 (Thursday) in the Jordan Auditorium of Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame.

Sponsored by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, Archbishop Brown’s lecture, titled “The Catholic Church in Ireland and Pope Francis: Legacy and Transformation,” is free and open to the public. Archbishop Brown will also preside and preach at the 5:15 p.m. Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Jan. 14 (Wednesday).

Archbishop Brown graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981, and went on to earn master’s degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Toronto. Cardinal John O’Connor ordained him a priest in 1989 for the Archdiocese of New York, and later sent him to Rome for doctoral studies in sacramental theology, intending that Brown would return to teach at Dunwoodie Seminary. While in Rome, however, Archbishop Brown was recruited to work for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. There he worked under Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, for more than 10 years. He served the Congregation until 2011, when Pope Benedict personally ordained Archbishop Brown to the episcopate and appointed him Titular Archbishop of Aquileia and Apostolic nuncio to Ireland. Archbishop Brown’s appointment in Ireland is an opportunity for healing and revitalization of the Catholic Church in Ireland.

The annual Terrence R. Keeley Vatican Lecture provides the Notre Dame community with the opportunity to interact with distinguished representatives from the Holy See and significant dioceses of Europe. Past lecturers have included Cardinal Angelo Amato, Cardinal Walter Kasper, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop Jean-Louis Bruguès and Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella.

More information on Archbishop Brown’s visit and an archive of past lectures with videos and transcripts is available at nanovic.nd.edu.